SCHR vs VGIT

SCHRASchwab Intermediate-Term U.S. Treasury ETF

VGITAVanguard Intermediate-Term Treasury ETF

In short

SCHR The belly of the Treasury curve for three basis points. Since 2010, SCHR has tracked the Bloomberg US Treasury 3-10 Year Index: government paper only, no corporate credit, income paid monthly.

VGIT The middle of the Treasury curve, priced like an afterthought. VGIT holds government bonds maturing in 3 to 10 years for 0.03% a year, a quarter of what the typical Treasury fund in its peer group charges.

Stated mandate

SCHR The fund seeks to track, before fees and expenses, the total return of an index measuring the intermediate-term U.S. Treasury bond market.

VGIT Seeks to track a market-weighted Treasury bond index while maintaining an intermediate-term dollar-weighted average maturity.

Why people hold it

• SCHR Charges 0.03% a year, a fraction of the 0.15% median for intermediate Treasury funds. In a corner of the market where yields do the heavy lifting, fee drag matters.
• Does exactly what the label says: about 100 US Treasury notes, tracking the Bloomberg US Treasury 3-10 Year Index with very tight fidelity. No credit sleeve, no derivatives detour.schwabassetmanagement.com
• Pays monthly, and it is an actively traded, multi-billion-dollar fund, which puts it among the more established options in the 3-10 year Treasury aisle.
• One of the strongest implementations in its peer group, matching SPTI at the bottom of the fee table and undercutting BBIB and the BondBloxx target-duration funds.

• VGIT Charges 0.03% a year against a 0.12% median for Treasury funds in its peer group. In bonds, where the coupon does the work, that fee gap is most of the argument.
• Plain index work: it follows the Bloomberg U.S. Treasury 3-10 Year Bond Index with very little slippage, one of the tighter implementations in its Treasury peer group.vanguard.com
• Running since 2009 and now a multi-billion-dollar fund that trades actively, so spreads stay tight. Interest lands monthly.
• The portfolio is U.S. government paper only, a few dozen issues. No corporate borrowers to underwrite, no credit research required.vanguard.com

Worth knowing

• SCHR Intermediate maturities carry real rate sensitivity. When yields rise, prices on 3-10 year Treasuries fall, and this fund holds the full move.
• Treasuries only. You get no credit spread from corporate or mortgage bonds, which is the point for some investors and a limit for others.schwabassetmanagement.com
• SPTI runs the same 0.03% fee on the same slice of the curve, so the choice often comes down to brokerage plumbing rather than the funds themselves.

• VGIT Intermediate maturities cut both ways. A 3 to 10 year book reprices more when yields move than a bill fund does, so the ride is bumpier than cash-like Treasury products.
• Treasuries only means no corporate credit premium in the yield. Income comes strictly from government coupons, and the monthly payout drifts with rates.

Full SCHR profile⁠

Full VGIT profile⁠